My son's first knife - sheath advice needed

[Atlas Knife Company]

I posted this in the gallery and re-posted it here with a question attached. The blade is cutting the sheath up. Edge up slices the leather, edge down is eventually going to slice the stitching. Any recommendations on a sheath design that would work better for this? Yes, I'm proud of his knife, and Grandpa will keep it safe until he is older.

My Son's first knife
This is my son Graham's first knife. Graham is 11. He ground it out a few weeks ago and finished it up this week. Hand rubbed to 800 grit and razor sharp. He gave it to his grandpa for Christmas. Still not very good at taking picture, they don't do the knife justice. He did all the work on it except for the scales. I did the rough profiling of the scales on the belt grinder and applied the CA finish. He sanded and shaped them by hand. When I ordered stencils from Ernie I had stencils made for both kids so he has his name etched on the blade.
Overall Length: 7"
Cutting Edge: 3”
Blade Steel: 1084
Grind: Convex
Scales: Stabilized Hickory (we think it's hickory)

 

[bacustomknives]

VERY NICE KNIFE, DAD & GRANPA SHOULD BE VERY PROUD:thumbup:

 

[Nebulae]

Use wire instead of thread. Either thick wire to help fill the holes, or twist several strands together.

 

[PDE]

Use wire instead of thread. Either thick wire to help fill the holes, or twist several strands together.

Do you want the knife to cut into metal wire instead of thread?
(please correct me if I am wrong in anyway.)

I would suggest to glue it up and then stitch it, or rivet it.
I don't know much about leather sheaths, you could always take twenty minutes and make a Kydex sheath for it
.

 

[Justin King]

If there is room you could form a replaceable inner liner to fit inside. Let it wrap tightly around the edge and spine, the compression on the inside of the fold makes the leather more resistant to cutting. Other than that I think your best bet is an over-size sheath with an extra wide welt, you can make a high spot on the welt to take most of the contact when sheathing/unsheathing.

 

[andrewfinnie13]

put a small welt on the sheath. wont be very hard to do at all on that sheath.

 

[12345678910]

Instead of a pouch style, how about a flat 3 layer type?

A good welt, hard enough and thick enough, should prevent stitching cut out...

glue as well as stitch



The sheath forum should have photos and tips...


I like this movie
Custom_Knife_Sheaths_-Chuck_Burrows-Wild_Rose

 

[Mitchell Knives]

You could make a kydex sheath that hides inside the leather sheath.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Charlie,
There are two ways around this problem.

First,
A sheath should be firm leather and have a welt that is glued to the case
Use vegetable tanned 8-9 Oz. leather. Glue the welt up with Leatherweld. This will make a far stronger welt than contact cement. Most of the knife supply catalogs carry the leather, leatherweld, edge dressing, thread, and needles.
The holes should be drilled on a drill press, or punched with an awl through the three glued up layers, and the assembly saddle stitched with waxed saddle thread. The stitching should go down the sheath, not looped around the side. Saddle stitching is done with two needles, one on each end of the waxed thread. Pull it through the second hole, leaving an equal amount of thread on each side. Go back through the first hole with each needle ( one from the top, and the other from the bottom), and proceed down the sheath to the end. At the end, go back two holes to lock the thread. The saddle stitch will make the sheath pull tight from both sides, and with the glued up welt, make a very strong wall for the edge to rest against.The sheath can be finished as you wish. The outer edge of the sheath can be sanded with 400 grit,dyed black if desired, treated with edge coat (tragacanth), and then buffed. A final coat of Atom Wax (Leather Balm) over the whole sheath is always a good idea.

Second,
A kydex or wooden liner can be make and the sheath can be fitted to the liner. This allows the use of softer leathers like the leather you are using. This method is very good for elk or deerskin Indian style sheaths, and for exotic leathers.

To make a wooden liner, use a soft, but fairly firm wood. Do not use hard, resinous, or abrasive grained woods. Holly, or poplar will work fine. The poplar at Home Depot is cheap and will do the job. Pick a straight grained piece.
Take a piece of 3/4" thick wood and split it slightly off center down the middle. These two scales will make the wood liner. Trace the blade on the thicker piece.
Using a small chisel and/or a Dremel tool, carve out a recess to fit the blade.Try and make it even and smooth bottomed. There is no need to make it contoured to the blade's bevels. Just an even depth from side to side works fine for a sheath liner. Check with the other scale in place, and when the blade slides in and out without binding, the inletting is done. The liner should not be a snug fit...or too loose. Now, take a paint stir and grind it to the shape of the recess so it fits exactly in the cavity. Leave the handle end on for a grip. Now, cut around the recess with a band saw, leaving a lip of about 1/4".
Using a good grade wood glue, like Tightbond, apply a thin layer to the lip, avoiding getting it in the recess. Place the wooden blade in place, and put the top half on. Clamp firmly ( but not hard) around the perimeter, and set down for five minutes. Carefully pull out the wooden mandrel, wipe it off with a damp cloth. Repeatedly insert and remove it, wiping each time, until the stick comes out clean of any glue. Dry the mandrel well and run it in and out a few more times. Set the liner down with out the mandrel in it. Half an hour later,check again for any more glue squeeze-out with the mandrel. Let the glue dry overnight ( without the mandrel, of course). Go back to the band saw, and trim the top piece to match the recessed piece. Stick the mandrel back in the liner and sand the liner until it is shaped like you want. The mandrel is much better to have in the liner when sanding than a sharp blade, and seals the cavity from grit. The final shape should have rounded sides and be thick enough to hold up, but thin enough to make the final sheath not too large or heavy. Lacquer the outside of this liner to make it more durable, and stronger. Once again, the mandrel provides a nice handle to hold on to when lacquering and to clamp in a vise when drying. Blow out the liner with compressed air any time you remove the mandrel, and very well before putting in the blade. This is to avoid stray grit from becoming embedded and scratching the blade.
Once the liner is done and you are satisfied with the fit and all, make the leather outer case. It can be made like the one you did; Made with a fringe like Mountain Man/Indian sheaths; Or pinched and draw stitched ( similar to saddle stitching) down the center of the back as in a classic leather covered wooden sheath.
It is a good idea to make the leather covering go at least 1" beyond the liner. This is to make a secure and fitted shoulder for the knife handle to seat into. Put the mandrel in the liner when you are stitching, shaping or doing any work on the cover. It can prevent the leather from overly compressing the liner and making it too tight.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Note: I added this to the sticky - How to Instructions for making a Knife"

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Good idea. A good brief tutorial on sheaths is nice.

 

[koyote]

here's one I did recently

edit: adding a few other views from another knife

The sheath is what I call a Ranger style. it's a deep pouch sheath with a long tab for the belt loop. The seam is protected with a welt, and the tab connects to a horizontal strap that goes around the whole thing.

The idea in this is that you soak the leather (5-7 ounce undyed, vegetable tanned leather) really wet with tap water, then use your clean fingers, and maybe the help of a spoon, to mold it to the knife.

dry off and oil the knife.

Let the leather dry really well (I use a dehydrator)

open up the leath a bit and you'll see the inside where it has formed up against blade and handle. slide the knife back in there and mark with a pencil all along the edge and STRAIGHT out to the top of the pouch.

Take the knife to a scrap of leather, and trace the edge and then straight along to up where the sheath pouch will end along the handle. Cut that out, that's your welt.

carefully, matching the welt lines to the pencil marks, glue the welt to the bottom of the sheath, then the top.

mark, stitch, finish. dye.

I'll be doing one of thise or somethign similar tomorrow and can grab step by step photos if that helps.

I can also send enough leather to do one of these up if you need.

(and I also need to do a hand stitching tutorial. Though the Al Stohlman book explains it all well enough, there are some "modifications" that are helpful for knifemakers)